


"You're his boyfriend." (he's not... yet.)

by notmadderred



Series: Daredevil/Punisher Fics [10]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Asexual Character, Bisexual Frank Castle, Bisexual Matt Murdock, But They Needed to Hear It lol, Confusion, Dex Assumed They Were Boyfriends, Dex Pisses Them Off, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Three (3) Human Disasters, not his fault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmadderred/pseuds/notmadderred
Summary: Dex blinked, obviously confused. “Oh. I assumed Matt…” He glanced just beyond Frank, into the room. “I thought you two told each other everything, y’know.”Frank kept the gun steady. What did he know about Matt? “The hell are you talking about?”Dex dropped his hands, shoving them into his pockets as he leaned back onto his heels. “I’m Bullseye,” he said, his tone suggesting that he wasveryimpatient that Frank wasn’t caught up yet.But. Oh.Oh.Bullseye.No wonder the kid was so fucking cocky.Frank shoved the gun into the back of his jeans. “Daredevil’s latest partner. So why the fuck are you talking to me?”Dex blinked slowly, mouth forming one of those ‘this-idiot’ smiles that should only have been reserved for dumbass children andnotFrank. “Are you kidd-- you’re Matt’sboyfriend.”Frank's heart did a flip. "What."





	"You're his boyfriend." (he's not... yet.)

“Who the fuck are you?” Frank asked, immediately picking up one of his guns as the blond, exhausted-looking man lifted his hands in some plaintive gesture. Did this dumbass want to die?

“We haven’t properly met,” he said, sounding far too unconcerned given the gun aimed at his head. 

Frank narrowed his eyes. No, not unconcerned. Confident. Cocky, even. He was keeping his hands a good enough distance up to impede Frank’s attack the second he seemed close to pulling the trigger.

Must’ve been a fucking idiot if he thought he could show up at the Punisher’s door and expect to be able to take him down.

Frank shifted back a half-step just in case the kid was half as good as he thought he was. “Stop,” he said as blondie attempted to follow.

The guy huffed and stepped back. 

Yeah, he was definitely exhausted, but it seemed to stem less from sleep and more from somewhere else. Frank was familiar -- plenty of people in the Marines became paranoid and emotionally strained when they failed to receive the usual monthly letter from their loved ones.

“I’m Dex,” he said.

“That supposed to mean shit to me? How’d you find me?”

Dex blinked, obviously confused. “Oh. I assumed Matt…” He glanced just beyond Frank, into the room. “I thought you two told each other everything, y’know.”

Frank kept the gun steady. What did he know about Matt? “The hell are you talking about?”

Dex dropped his hands, shoving them into his pockets as he leaned back onto his heels. “I’m Bullseye,” he said, his tone suggesting that he was _very_ impatient that Frank wasn’t caught up yet.

But. Oh. _Oh._

Bullseye.

No wonder the kid was so fucking cocky.

Frank shoved the gun into the back of his jeans. “Daredevil’s latest partner. So why the fuck are you talking to me?”

Dex blinked slowly, mouth forming one of those ‘this-idiot’ smiles that should only have been reserved for dumbass children and _not_ Frank. “Are you kidd-- you’re Matt’s _boyfriend_.”

Frank’s heart did a flip. “ _What_.”

“What?”

“We aren’t-- what the fuck?”

Dex snorted derisively, shoving Frank’s shoulder as he walked in. _This fucking asshole--_

“I’m asexual, not an idiot. With the way he talks about you, it’s obvious. And your face when I mentioned his name?” He turned sharply, glaring at Frank. “C’mon. Can we get past this and get to why I’m here?”

“We aren’t dating.”

Dex didn't have the decency to look surprised. Or even convinced. “Okay. Whatever. I don’t give a shit either way. But you _care_ about him, right?”

“What are you gettin’ at?”

Dex grabbed a pen off Frank’s desk and began anxiously tossing it between his hands. 

Frank frowned. He probably shouldn’t have the pen if he’s anxious. “Put that down, kid.”

Dex growled and threw it. It dug itself deep into one of the faces on Frank’s latest mob board. “Happy?”

“Yeah. Take a couple breaths and start talkin’.”

Dex was eying him sideways now. Frank made sure to keep his hands loose by his sides. He’d had plenty of experience dealing with volatile vigilantes, though Red was pretty composed compared to this latest asshole. 

Even still, the flippant comment about Red talking about Frank as if they were boyfriends was still thrumming in the base of his skull.

“He was kidnapped,” Dex ground out.

Frank straightened, and at the sudden movement, Dex’s hand moved to hover over another pen. “Red’s kidnapped? How?”

Dex prowled to the other side of the room. “Doesn’t matter. He’s in trouble.”

Frank felt a frustrated bite climbing his throat. He pushed it down by angling his head to the side. No firing shots at this guy. At least, not while he’s walking around acting like he’s a half-step from murdering someone for looking at him too long. “And why do you need my help? From what I hear, you’re plenty fine with takin’ down groups on your own.” He looked back, voice dropping down to almost-sarcastic, “Even without lethal force. Didn't think two altar-boys would be as good--”

“Shut up,” Dex growled. “Don’t-- I can’t--” He ran a hand through his hair again, eying his surroundings. “Before I started working with Matt, I killed everyone. I’m…” He shook his head, “He was helping me. That’s why I don’t kill people. Because if I start again, I might--”

“Wait, you kill people?” Red was actually siding with a killer?

“Like I said -- not anymore. But I’m… I know myself well enough to say that if I went in to save him, I’d do it. I’d…” He looked up to meet Frank’s eyes, “I’d kill everyone there. Because even if I’m getting better, it’s always been because Matt’s with me, but now he’s not and he’s in trouble and I don’t-- I want to. I’m not…” He clenched his fists, “I’m not okay. And I want to do what Matt wants, which means not killing people. So I need help.”

Frank lifted a brow. Dex was some kind of psychological disaster. “I kill people, kid.”

“I know. And so do I. But can you…” He tapped his foot a couple times, “help me?” That sounded painful to get out. “Stop me if I get too out of hand. Matt said I could trust you. And for him, I think you can go a day without killing people.” He tilted his head. “Boyfriend or not.”

Frank huffed at that. Fucking Red. Only that asshole would cause this. “You want me to help you not kill anyone while also helpin’ you get Red outta trouble?”

Dex set his jaw and nodded sharply. “Yes.”

Fuck his life. And fuck this guy. “Fine. Just don’t make me regret it.”

Dex shrugged. “I can’t promise that.”

Fuck. His. Life.

 

“You tried to kill Foggy and Karen and he _still_ agreed to work with you?”

Dex was next to him, garbed in his dumb-fucking Bullseye mask. “Yeah. He’s got a soft spot for lost causes, I guess.”

“Fuckin’ Christ.”

“Maybe that’s why he likes you?”

“Oh no.” Frank glared at Dex, who was tilting his head as if he some innocent fuckin’ stray cat. “I started a conversation to calm you the fuck down, not to have you start up on this bullshit again.”

Dex released a sharp laugh. “C’mon. It’s getting annoying. Just admit it.”

He was almost successful at looking unwound, but his hands were still shaking, head making stiff, quick movements at every little sound. Still too anxious. They were only a block away now.

“Whatever, kid. I like the guy, but we work differently. Think differently. It’d get in the way.”

Dex smirked. “Get in the way? And here I was thinking you’d agree to follow my killing-abstinence plan.”

“Fuck you. You know what I mean.”

Dex hummed. “Frank.”

“What?”

“If you killed good people -- accidentally or not -- would you stop?”

“Dunno, kid. Haven’t done it.”

“That you know of.”

Frank stuck out an arm, stopping Dex in his tracks. “Don’t you start at that shit,” he said, his voice low. “Don’t you start--”

“What?” Dex was frowning. “You can’t know for sure. You just don’t like me pointing it out. When you take out a mob of forty people, there may have been one decent guy among them. A kid tryin’ to get away from a bad family or some shit. You just don’t want it on your conscience.” 

Frank growled and gripped the front of Dex’s shirt. “You don’t know shit.”

“I’ve killed some really good people. You know that priest Matt cared so much about?”

Frank narrowed his eyes. “Lantom?”

“Well, I killed that guy, for one. And a bunch of other people. Even I have some regrets, and I’m a psychopath.” Dex tilted his head. “I didn't really think that you were, too.”

Frank’s hold tightened. Blood was starting to creep in at the corners of his vision, but he took a deep breath. “I told you not to make me regret this. Now you better fix whatever the hell it is you’re aimin’ at before I walk.”

“Fix what.” Dex smirked again and shoved Frank back. “I ain’t fixing anything. I just make for a good goddamn mirror for what coulda happened to New York’s resident vigilantes.” He lifted his hands. “You don’t want to become me. Only I can handle me, and that’s a tenuous string.”

“You sick son of a--”

“Taking people down without killing them is possible. If not for my sake, given it a shot for Matt’s. I mean, you already agreed to it tonight.”

“You seriously think attacking me was the best goddamn route to get there?” Frank shook his head. “You’re fucked up, kid.”

“I know.”

Frank grunted. “I’ll do this shit tonight, and then I’ll never see your face again.” 

Dex laughed again. Frank was going to punch him in the face. 

“You know, people keep saying that to me.”

“I wonder why.”

He strolled in the direction of the warehouse Red was being held in. This was what he fucking got for trying to calm down a psychopath. He should really just let the kid loose -- it’d save Frank the trouble of hunting down the gangbangers later when they inevitably got out of jail.

Then again, the system _was_ doing better with Fisk officially down for the count. 

God dammit. Now he was actually _listening_ to the guy. And in listening to Dex, he was basically listening to Red’s no-kill mantra. Was this seriously where his life was headed?

Dex trotted up to match his step. Neither of them said anything else.

 

Red was fine.

Dex’s extreme panic had been seriously uncalled for.

Well, yeah -- they tortured him a little, but Red had a stubborn streak and pain tolerance a mile wide. 

All the captors were out, soon to be in police custody. Frank had earned a bullet to the chest (thank fuck for his vest) when he stopped Dex from delivering a lethal throw to a particularly belligerent mobster who was bragging about how the Devil was going through hell.

It wasn’t true.

Red’s mask hadn’t even been pried off -- Frank opted to believe it was the result of paranoia on the results of such an action. Either that or Red had lied through his teeth.

“Come here often?” was the first thing that came from Red’s mouth when Frank stepped in.

Frank whipped around to look at Dex.

Dex shrugged. “See why I thought that?”

Frank couldn’t believe this. 

“Really, Red?” he growled as Dex went to release him from the restraints.

As soon as he was free, Red stretched out his limbs. “Sorry. Tired.”

Which didn't explain jack-shit, but fuck it.

“Wait.” Red glanced between Dex and Matt. “Did you two kill--”

“No,” they both responded, Frank sounding annoyed and Dex sounding super-fuckin’ proud of himself. Fuck that guy.

Red turned to Frank, looking almost sheepish under the mask. “Sorry about him. How badly did he piss you off?”

Frank snorted as Dex grinned thinly. “That obvious?” he asked.

“No, I just know you,” Red shot back.

“He was just high-strung,” Frank intervened. While he believed it to be true, it wasn’t actually an excuse for how much of an asshole Dex had been. Even still, Frank kind of felt like he owed the guy an apology. That was the best he’d be getting.

Red was silent, seeming to catch on to the tension. Finally, he turned to Dex angrily, crossing his arms. “What’d you do.”

Dex mimicked the posture and lifted his nose. “Why are you targetting me?”

“You know how my senses work.”

“Fuck your senses. I didn't do anything wrong.”

“Oh, yeah?” Matt’s ankle must’ve been sprained or something. He was favoring his left leg. “Is that so? Because the Dex I know tends to unravel and butt his head in places he shouldn’t.”

Dex made an incoherent noise and looked at the ground. “It’s not my fault my personality pisses people off.”

“It is when you _know_ you’re pissing them off.”

“Well, I guess my attempts at logical morality are a bust, then,” he drawled. “But hey -- at least I convinced him to help me help you without killing people.”

Red’s head angled slightly in Frank’s direction. “Why _did_ you help?”

It was obvious the words were directed at Frank. “Kid was ‘bout to explode. Can’t have somethin’ like that runnin’ loose.”

Which was kind of true.

“Please,” Dex scoffed, “I could tell you wanted to let me just walk in here and kill everyone myself. You did it for Matt.”

Frank glared. “And here I was thinkin’ you’d learn to be less of an asshole.”

“And here I was thinking you’d stop pretending that I’m being an asshole and admit you’re only upset because I’m right.”

“Doesn’t matter that you’re right. You’re still an asshole.”

Matt snorted.

Frank turned on him. “What?”

“I’m-- sorry. So you did come here for me?”

Frank blinked. Fuck.

“ _And_ he didn't kill anyone. May as well have sent roses,” said Dex.

“Hilarious,” said Frank, “but I already told you this no-killing ordeal was a one-time thing.”

Red perked up suddenly. “Lie!”

“What?”

Red turned to him, actually _smiling_. “You _lied_. This wasn’t a one-time thing.” The smile quickly faded. “Wait.” He looked back to Dex. “Don’t tell me you fucking _broke_ him.”

“I didn't!”

“I’m right here,” said Frank. What the hell had he gotten himself into? And how had that fucking psychopath actually managed to get into his head?

Red glanced over to Frank. “Well, he must have said _something_ to make you think twice. Knowing him, it must’ve been traumatic.”

Frank snorted. “Yeah. He told me the two of us were in a relationship. Your fault, ‘cause apparently you talk as if we are.”

Red froze. “Uh.” 

Dex made a, ‘don’t-look-at-me’ face. “I genuinely believed he was your boyfriend.”

“Why would you--! I _never_ said--!”

“You don’t shut up about him! I thought I’d seen enough TV shows with relationships to make an educated guess! _Excuse me_ that you were a prime example of a guy madly--”

Red shoved a hand over Dex’s mouth. Frank honestly believed if he’d done such a thing, Dex would’ve bitten him. “Don’t finish that sentence,” said Red.

“Oh my God,” Dex said, voice lightly muffled under Matt’s hand, “you’re so immature. The two of you are grown men.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Frank as Red muttered a small, helpless, “Oh my God.”

The sound of sirens began to filter into the room.

Dex was looking smug under Matt’s hand. “We should go. I’m gonna guess you two have things to talk about.”

Frank groaned. Seriously. Fuck that guy.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in a state of delirium. idk how it happened. is it shit? does it make sense? dont ask me bc i have genuinely no idea.
> 
> also hey-o
> 
> (But seriously if something doesn't make sense, please tell me. My brain hasn't been working in a straight, functional line lately so pls (also haha, "straight"))


End file.
